Reinforced wall construction



Dec. 8, 1959 I A. E. FENTIMAN 2,916,109

REINFORCED WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 18, 1956 Inventor HG. 2 AR UR'E. mm-

A Z-MZZM' .flmtorney Unite btates Patent REINFORCED WALL CONSTRUCTION Arthur E. Fentiman, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, assignor, by mesne assignments, t Clarence Frank Fentiman, Arthur Edward Fentiman, and Harold Gordon Fendman, trading as Triodetic Structures, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Application January 18, 1956, Serial No. 559,987

3 Claims. (Cl. 189-34) My invention relates to reinforced wall construction adapted for use in metallic frame walls of skeleton type.

Although the science of reinforcement has been recognized and practised for many years, problems arise which lead us to understand there is still much to be desired. Reinforcements of building structures has been practised from the past to the present day, sometimes in the form of buttresses which were invariably made of stone or wood and in later years of reinforced concrete, but these uses have been generally limited to a vertical plane and the buttresses were not prefabricated but were constructed and permanently built into the structure on the site in which the structure was being erected.

Pilasters have been used and as the name suggests they have been in the form of pillars or columns built into the walls of a structure and always in a vertical plane. These forms of reinforcement have therefor limited application.

As the length of a structural wall could and frequently does exceed the height and as the general class of reinforcements are invariably restricted to a vertical plane, then the use of vertical buttresses could encroach on valuable floor space, particularly if the building on which the reinforcements are to be used is a commercial one.

It is true that extensive arch structures have been used to reinforce building walls but again this is in a vertical plane and these arches while possessing utilitarian value were sometimes chosen for their architectural beauty.

In the metallic field of reinforcing, the well known type of iron and steel girders usually of skeleton or strut formation are used, but these girders are fabricated in a factory or workshop and shipped as a complete unit to the place in which the structure in which they are to be used is being permanently erected. These girders are formed of iron or steel parts permanently riveted or welded in position and their field of use is limited.

Wooden stays and other wooden structures have been used but their lifetime is not always satisfactory as it is known that white ants, termites and other pests may destroy or weaken such structures.

The field in which I am interested is one in which a reinforcement could be made on wall structures either vertically, horizontally or even diagonally across the wall, and incorporated in the wall structure so as to form an integral part thereof. More particularly the reinforcement which I have visualized was to be attached to a. skeleton frame wall capable of being shipped in a knockdown condition from one place to another and it was essential that the reinforcement should be demountable and also shipped in a knockdown condition.

It was evident that none of the reinforcement above referred to could be used, nor could they be modified to suit any purpose, so that I was faced with the necessity of designing and developing a new demountable reinforcement which is unique in this art.

To accomplish this it has been necessary to be guided by the objects which I deemed essential to successfully solve my problem.

One of these objects is to construct a reinforcement of a form which is capable of use and incorporation into any portion of a frame wall structure.

Another object is to make the reinforcement demountable and capable of use in a prefabricated structure which may be shipped to a place of erection in a knockdown form.

A further object is to construct a reinforcement which may be used in various positions in a frame wall structure with the plane of the reinforcement always at right angles to the plane of the wall.

Another object is to construct a reinforcement in which resistance to distortion is fully developed and the tensile strength of the materials forming the reinforcement will be utilized to the best advantage.

Still a further object is that the reinforcement should be as light as possible so as not to unduly increase the weight 011 a wall structure and yet at the same time be strong and durable to satisfactorily fulfill the functions required of it.

Further objects will be made clear as the specification develops.

In solving my problem and reducing my invention to practice I have utilized the connectors between multiple frame forms constituting a wall, by extending a number of these connectors beyond the plane of the inner face of the wall construction, and on these connectors I have built my reinforcements which are thus incorporated into and form an integral part of, the wall structure. By judicious choice of connectors which are so extended beyond the face of the wall, I have made it possible to use my reinforcements either locally or generally over the wall structure so that the best possible use is made of the reinforcement. For instance, I may arrange the reinforcements vertically, horizontally or angularly across the inner wall face. It will be appreciated that local reinforcements diagonally arranged across each other would provide the ultimate in strength to a wall structure without unduly adding to the weight thereof.

So that the nature of my invention will be clearly understood I have illustrated its application to apart of a wall structure and have specifically described the same but I wish it to be understood that I do not limit my invention to the specific form disclosed and described but reserve the right to modify the structure within the scope of my appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of part of a wall structure with my reinforcing means attached thereto.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional plan view of part of a wall structure showing my improved reinforcement extending from the inner face of the wall.

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a wall showing my improved reinforcement in detail.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail showing an end elevation of a connector with radiating members keyed therein.

Like characters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings A represents part of a wall Structure comprising two spaced members B and C, each formed of a plurality of rods or like members D arranged around the connectors E. The connectors E are equidistantly spaced apart with the ends lying in two planes which are in parallelism. From each end of the connectors E a plurality of like rods D radiate to form symmetrically arranged triangles and the converging apices of each set of triangles are firmly engaged by a connector B.

As the connectors E are equidistantly spaced apart and since the triangles formed of the radially arranged rods D are equilateral it will be clear that each apex of the triangle is engaged,"and firmly held in place by a connector E relatively to the adjacent triangles composed of rods D so that the plurality of connectors E and the rods D of the triangular space frames are all held firmly locked together and lie in one plane surface.

The connectors E extend between and support the two assemblies B and C of the wall A in spaced parallel relation.

The connectors E and wall structure A are similar to that which I have disclosed in my companion patent application relating to Wall Structure, Serial No. 559,988, filed January 18, 1956.

To reinforce the wall A I select a plurality of connectors E which form an essential part of my reinforcing means F, and these connectors are equidistantly spaced apart and at least two are always in alignment.

The connectors E are shown as cylindrical in cross section and are provided with a plurality of radially disposed keyways 1t equidistantly spaced around the periphery of the connector and these keyways extend longitudinally of the connector and from end to end thereof. The form of the keyways is similar to that disclosed in mycompanion application to which I have referred above, so I shall not further describe these keyways.

In Figure 3 a plurality of connectors E extend beyond the face of the triangular space member C of the wall A and all of these extended connectors E lie in the same plane at right angles to the planes in which the members B and C lie.

The outer end of these longer connectors E are connected by longitudinally extending members 11 of tubular or other cross-section which have flat ends 12 to engage with the keyways 10 of the respective connectors. Similar diagonal members 13 are seen connected adjacent the outer end of the centre connector E and extend towards the triangular space frame member 13 where these members engage the ends of the other connectors E adjacent to the frame member B, so that two similar triangular frames are formed between each of the adjacent connectors E. The ends of the diagonal members 13 are flat to engage the co-acting keyway 10 in the connector E.

It will be noted that these three connectors E shown in Figure 3 are firmly connected to the two triangular space frame members B and C constituting the wall A so that any bending force on the outer ends of these connectors is resisted by the members B and C. It will also be clear that any force exerted on the members B and C will, be resisted by the reinforcement member F, and that in this resistance the tensile strength of the members 11 and 13 play a very substantial part. It will also be clear that any force tending to distort the wall A will be distributed over the wall surface by the reinforcement member F.

Particular attention is also directed to the means used to tie the outer points of one connector with the base of another connector and also the means by which I connect the outer ends of two adjacent connectors, for it has a high tensile strength and it is principally on this tensile strength that I rely to obtain the maximum supporting strength of my pilaster.

Pressure, due for instance to high winds, exerted on the outer plane face of the wall, tends to cause the outer plane surface of the wall to become concave, so that the inner face of the wall would be convex. This would cause the connectors to spread slightly at their inner ends if they were free to be moved, but such a movement is resisted by tensile pull on the diagonal ties, and the tensile pull on the member connecting such inner ends of the connectors and so resists any distortion, so

that the reinforcement while of light construction is given a maximum strength which will resist extremely strong forces exerted on the outer face of the Wall and which would otherwise tend to distort the wall.

In reinforcing known walls the area of the wall to be strengthened may not lend itself to the older forms of reinforcing. With my improved form of reinforcing a triangular space frame or wall structure the reinforcement may be arranged in the maner best calculated to give to the affected area all the support necessary to meet the conditions to which it is subjected. The structure of my triodetic wall or space frame with its symmetrically arranged and connected triangles lends itself to the in- 15 corporation of this novel reinforcing structure that may be arranged in many ways such as being disposed angularly across the corners of a wall, or vertically or horizontally or in ti-shaped or zig-zagged forms, etc.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a reinforced wall construction, the combination of a plurality of rows of equally spaced elongated parallel connectors disposed transversely to said wall, the connectors of certain of said rows at predetermined intervals being or increased length and extending beyond the face of said wall, with the connectors in the intermediate rows being of shorter length and having their opposite ends lying in substantially parallel planes, a plurality of rods extending between and secured to said connectors, said rods lying substantially in each of the parallel planes of the opposite ends of said intermediate rows of connectors, tensile means connecting the respective extended ends of adjacent connectors of said rows of connectors of F increased length, and other tensile means connecting the extended ends of certain of said connectors of rows of increased length with the opposite ends of adjacent connectors of said rows of increased length.

2. The combination as specified in claim. 1 wherein said rods extend between and are secured to said connectors in a triangular pattern, and wherein the triangular patterns of said plurality of rods extending between and secured adjacent the opposite ends of said connectors of shorter lengths substantially define the opposite wall surfaces.

3. A reinforcing member for a wall including radiating arms disposed in spaced parallel planes, said radiating arms being rigidly inter-connected by parallel elongated connectors extending substantially normally between said parallel planes; the improvement including a plurality of rows of adjacent parallel elongated connectors extending beyond one face of the wall and being arranged in alignment, brace members connecting the extended ends of the adjacent connectors of each of said rows, and brace members extending diagonally from adjacent the extended end of certain of said connectors in a row to the opposite end of an adjacent connector in the same row, said brace members lying in the same plane, at right angles to the plane of the wall surface.

50 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,976,188 Nozawa Oct. 9, 1934 2,709,975 Parker June 7, 1955 5 2,752,368 Blumfield July 3, 1955 OTHER REFERENCES Construction Methods, 1932, pp. 20 and 21.

Architectural Forum, August 1951, vol. 95, No. 2, pp. 144-151.

The Magazine of Building, pp. l56157, March 1953. 

